The leftist deputy Catherine Connolly This Saturday she was proclaimed winner of the presidential elections in Irelandheld on Friday. Connolly, supported by the nationalists of the Sinn Fein and by other leftist parties, has achieved a clear victory with more than 60% of the votesaccording to the first counts, compared to almost the 30% of your rivalthe candidate of the center-right Fine Gael party, Heather Humphreyswho has acknowledged defeat. The results, marked by the low participation and for a large number of null voteshave demonstrated the fed up with a large part of the population with the current center-right government and with the political class in general.
“Wanna congratulate Catherine for becoming the next president of Ireland. Catherine will be a president for all of us and she will be my president, and I would really like wish you all the best“, he assured Humphreys shortly before finishing the count. His defeat represents a hard blow for him coalition executivecommanded by the centrist Fianna Fáil and for him Gael together with the Greens. The Fianna Fáil candidate, Jim Gavinresigned from the presidential race after a scandal related to the rental of a home he owned came to light, although his name was still on the ballot and he has managed less than 10% of the votes.
Punishment of the Government
The difficulties in accessing a dwelling and the discontent of a part of the population with the arrival of asylum seekers has undermined the Government, re-elected last year, in recent months. A situation that has benefited the nationalists of the Sinn Fein (for years the political arm of the IRA), who aspire to achieve a victoria in the next general elections, scheduled for 2029, and to put the reunification debate back on the table.
Connolly has benefited from the campaign errors of his rivalsthe voters’ fatigue with the Government and their pull among the youngest thanks to social networks. Their firm positions against the rearmament of Europe and against the Israeli attacks on Gazadescribed as genocide by the main international organizations, have attracted the left-wing electorate and earned them the support from prominent figures from the world of culture, including the Northern Irish rap group Kneecap.
Null votes
Even so, the low participationslightly higher than 40%and the large number of null voteswhich have reached the 20% in some constituencieshave made clear the growing fatigue of the Irish with the political class in general. Connolly has promised to put aside his ideological positions and represent all irish people in his new position, which has a mainly institutional role in Ireland and lacks effective power, although it can exert influence in some matters. “Wanna thank everyoneeven to those who have not voted for me. “I understand your concerns regarding who will best represent you,” he said.
The new president will succeed Michael D. Higginswho has held the position since 2011 with good popularity ratings, and will be officially inaugurated in a institutional ceremony at Dublin Castle in mid-November.
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